


Taming Her

by Perfect_Insanity



Category: The Walking Dead
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Negan - Freeform, Negan Fluff, the walking dead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 07:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15043316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perfect_Insanity/pseuds/Perfect_Insanity
Summary: Negan comes across a girl who's lost all sense of humanity and takes her in despite her animalistic behavior





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Totally rabid warrior reader who can't even speak because she's been alone in the woods for so long, encounters negan after trying to stab him. She a total savage who can do matrix shit 

Negan didn’t go on runs alone very often. He didn’t necessarily need a group of people surrounding him like bodyguards. He had his trusty baseball bat named Lucille with barbed wire wrapped around it. One hit to the head and whatever enemy tried to take him down would regret it. He was confident in that. All else fails, he has his beautiful Lucille.

Today was just one of those days though. Negan just needed some time to himself really. If he found something he could bring back to The Sanctuary, then of course he would. But in all actuality, he wasn’t on a mission to find anything. Well, except for peace and quiet. Sometimes it was chaotic at The Sanctuary and he needed time away to forget his responsibilities. Even he needed time to relax. He just didn’t like to admit it to anyone. Any sign of weakness could ruin him.

It was a calm afternoon. Not many roamers were hanging around the woods today. Negan had only killed maybe three or four during his travels. But it could all change once night came. It usually did.

As Negan turned a corner, he was greeted with a kick to the face. He fell back into the crunchy, dead leaves. The leaves were flying all around him, slightly disorienting him as the owner of the foot the kicked him in the face. It was a young woman, covered in dirt, which made her large, murderous eyes pop even more. Her hair was stringy and dirty, her clothes grimy with dried blood caked all over. He wanted to be furious about this complete stranger kicking him down and trying to kill him but he was simply too impressed. Not many people could sneak up on him like that. She was nothing like anyone else he’d ever met before.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Negan finally said. The girl responded by pulling a knife from its holster and lunging for Negan, her knife raised and ready to stab him. It was already stained with the blood of many others she’d taken out before him and it had never been cleaned, “Hey!”

The girl snarled, almost like an animal as Negan grabbed her wrists, focusing on keeping the blade away from his body. The girl was freakishly strong but it didn’t stop him from pressing his boot into her gut and kicking her off of him. As he got back up, the girl jumped back onto her feet with ease, kicking Negan’s bat away before he could get to it.

The girl was more flexible than Negan would’ve expected. The way she twisted her body just to get Lucille away from Negan was insane and it shocked him long enough to allow the girl to get a few more punches in before he finally snapped out of it and fought back.

Negan kicked the girl to the ground, pouncing on top of her and pinning her arms down. She groaned and writhed underneath him, her face burning red with fury. Negan chuckled at her struggle and shook his head at her, “You need to relax darlin’. I’m not the asshole here ya know. Who kicked who in the face? I should be crushing your skull with Lucille right now but I’m not gonna.”

The girl continued to thrash around like she hadn’t heard a single word he said. He frowned and continued, “Are you listening to me, little lady? Can you even understand me?”

The girl nodded but still said nothing. He sighed, shaking his head, “Now listen, girl. I wish I could trust you and let you go. But you’re gonna have to come back with me.”

That just made the girl thrash around even more but Negan still lifted her onto her feet effortlessly, pinning her arms behind her back. With his free hand, he picked Lucille up off the ground and waved it around in the girl’s face. He hated to threaten her since he had a feeling underneath this animalistic behavior and killer instinct, she was probably a decent person. But she was unstable and needed to be calmed down.

“Try anything, and this is what you’re gonna get,” Negan said. The girl still breathed heavily, her chest rising and falling quickly as she stared at him, wanting so badly to break free and completely destroy him but she had no choice but to agree and start walking.

Negan took the girl with him on the long walk back to The Sanctuary. Every now and then she made a small attempt to wiggle from Negan’s grip but he wasn’t about to let his guard down around this girl. 

When Negan arrived with the girl, they both got strange, confused looks from everyone working the gates. The stares coming from all of the saviors made the girl visibly uncomfortable and she tensed up in Negan’s grip. One of Negan’s men, Dwight met up with him and frowned at the girl, scrunching up his nose like she was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen.

“Who’d you find?” Dwight inquired. He looked up at Negan’s bruised, bloody nose and the black eye forming under his right eye, “Did she do that to your face?”

“She did,” Negan said, “She’s a feisty one. I need you guys to take her to get cleaned up and get her some new clothes to change into.”

Dwight looked at the girl up and down and she growled again. Her reaction to him made him step back and laugh, “What is she, a dog? Why’s she growling at me?”

“I have no idea,” Negan replied. One of his men handed him a rope, which he used to tightly bound the girl’s wrists behind her back. She grunted as the rope scratched her skin which was just making her angrier. One more thing could set her off and Negan was almost tempted to do it just to watch her move again. But he wouldn’t provoke her. She wasn’t always like this. Something had to have happened to her to make her this way. Whatever the reason may be, he’d rather help her than hurt her, “Just don’t piss her off, Dwight. Alright?”

Dwight nodded but grabbed the girl roughly anyway. Negan would’ve stopped him but after just warning him to not make her angry, he felt Dwight deserved anything the girl would do at this point.

“You don’t fuck with me, you got it?” Dwight said. The girl was silent as usual, abruptly throwing her head back and slamming it against Dwight’s head. He groaned as she kicked him, knocking him down and he slid across the floor, hitting the wall hard. He groaned, rubbing the back of his head. With her hands tied behind her back, the girl took on five different guys and was holding her own. When one man finally got his hands on her, she actually bit down on his arm. Even though her bite was painful, he wouldn’t let go until she actually broke the skin and blood was running down his arm. After that, no one else would approach her.

“Dwight, what the fuck did I tell you?” Negan snapped. The girl didn’t have the same rage in her eyes that Negan had become so impressed with. She was fighting and keeping it together but now she just looked terrified being surrounded by these strange men. Negan handed his bat off to someone else and slowly approached the girl. She turned to him, ready to attack him even though she was visibly shaking, blood drying on her chin. Negan held up his hands, gesturing for his men to move away from the girl, “Listen, it’s okay, alright? No one here is gonna hurt you.”

The girl glanced at Negan’s bat in someone else’s hand. It did make sense that she didn’t trust him. He did say he could’ve crushed her skull but he didn’t want to do that now. This girl was worse than anyone he’d ever seen. He wasn’t one for mercy but she broke his heart.

“Forget what I said,” Negan said, “I’m not gonna hurt you. I just wanna help you, okay? I’ll untie you if you just calm down, okay? I won’t let anyone here hurt you. We’ll clean you up, get you clean clothes and a warm bed, a hot meal. That sound okay?”

The girl was hesitant, grunting a little under her breath. Finally, she relaxed and nodded, turning around so Negan could untie her. She appreciated his gentle touch and kept close to him.

“Are you gonna tell me your name?” Negan inquired. The girl was silent but he didn’t know why he expected anything different. Although, this time it looked like she actually wanted to say something. But it seemed like something was stopping her. Negan sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder, “Alright, we’ll get to that later. Let’s just get you cleaned up. Without beating everyone up if you don’t mind.”

The girl scoffed but nodded. Negan brought her into his bedroom and sat her down on the sofa, “I’m gonna get a bath ready for you. Will you still be here when I come back?”

She nodded and Negan smiled, “Good. I’m trusting you, girl. Don’t fail me now.”

Negan expected the girl to be watching the door, as if waiting for him to disappear so she could sneak away but he was surprised to see that she was watching him leave like she didn’t want him to go. Was he the first person to take care of this girl? Was he the first person to help her? Was that why she was suddenly attaching herself to him? It didn’t matter Negan realized. It had been a long time since someone genuinely liked him and wasn’t just scared of him. The girl didn’t seem to be frightened of him at all.

As Negan was getting the girl’s bath ready, he heard the sofa creak from the next room and then footsteps coming towards him. If the girl was coming to try and kill him again, what would he use to defend himself? Someone else had Lucille. The girl had distracted him and he didn’t get his bat back.

But when Negan turned around, he saw that the girl was just standing in the doorway watching him. He raised his eyebrow as he pulled his hand from the warm water, “I thought I told you to stay there.”

The girl shrugged. Negan sighed, hanging his head as he stood up, “I hope you use your words soon, girl. I still don’t know your name. Do you even remember your name?”

The girl nodded.

“How long have you been out there in those woods?”

The girl shrugged.

“Well, the bath is ready for you,” Negan said, “Here’s a robe for you until we can find some clothes for you to wear. Think you’ll ever speak to me?”

He earned another shrug but he didn’t mind. The girl trusted him enough not to attack him again. Instead, she grabbed a rag, dipped it in the water and grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him towards her. She wiped the blood off his face, being gentle around his sore nose. Her finger grazed the black eye forming underneath his eye as if to say she was sorry.

“It’s fine,” Negan said, “My nose isn’t broken so I can get over it.”

Negan took the rag from the girl’s hands and started wiping the dirt off her face. He didn’t expect the face underneath all that grime to be so beautiful. She touched her now clean face and smiled, her cheeks turning red.

“Yeah, might need to get you a new rag after this,” Negan chuckled, showing her the filthy rag. The first friendly sounds that came from her mouth were giggles as she pushed the rag away from her. Negan laughed with her and started for the door, “There’s more rags in that cabinet there. Help yourself.”

As Negan shut the door, he felt a tap on the shoulder. He could never get over how quick she was on her feet. Negan turned, “You’re fast. You know that? What is it?”

“T-T-T…” she stuttered, pressing her hand against her chest. 

“Stop,” Negan said, placing his hand on her shoulder, “I don’t know why you can’t but I do know that it isn’t something you should force.”

The girl shook her head and continued with her struggle, “T-T-Th-tha…thank y-y-you.”

Negan smiled, rubbing the girl’s arm, “You’re welcome. Now hurry up and bathe. You’re disgusting.”

The girl playfully punched him on the arm and shut the door. Negan shook his head in disbelief. This girl already had him wrapped around her finger and she hadn’t said more than two words to him. This girl was more than just an expert fighter. She really did have a heart of gold underneath that animalistic exterior. 


	2. Taming Her Part Two: Her Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girl has a hard time relearning but Negan proves he's always gonna be there to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GIRL DO A SECOND PART TO TAMING HER!!! like where Dwight and some of the other members make fun of her when she's learning to speak and spell and ANGRY NEGAN!!
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING: the use of the word "retard" I am personally not offended by the word but I know it offends other people so I thought I'd throw in a warning

Ever since the girl had said thank you to Negan, she’d gone quiet once more. It wasn’t surprising to him actually. She didn’t know how to communicate with the world around her anymore and no one really knew how to accommodate her. She isolated herself in the private quarters Negan had given her. Normally, he’d toss someone like her into the masses and make her earn points to get what she wanted or needed but he felt an attachment to her. He wasn’t sure what it was but he figured it could be worth pursuing.

If only he could get her to communicate.

Dwight and countless others, annoyed and bitter about the special treatment this girl had been getting kept telling Negan that she needed to start pulling her own weight. Negan knew the girl could handle any task he gave her. She’d snuck up on him, actually gave him a nosebleed and a black eye. She was tough. But she couldn’t even tell anyone her name. How was she expected to do work right now? Or perhaps he just wanted to be selfish and have her to himself. 

The girl stuck to Negan most of the time anyway, probably because he was the only one who talked to her even though she couldn’t respond with more than a few positive or negative gestures and facial expressions. Some walked by like she was wallpaper, or they poked fun at her when she wasn’t around. Negan hadn’t actually seen that happen but Sherri had told him about it. If he saw anyone making fun of the girl, he’d shut that down with force.

Over the next few days, the girl was regaining her strength, getting some meat on her bones and some light in her eyes. She was a lot calmer and goddammit she was stunning. Negan just wished he could hear more than just that one “thank you” she’d given him before.

The two of them were eating breakfast together one morning. Negan preferred that she eat alone with him after he heard about a few people making fun of her. It might’ve been a bad idea to hide her from all the inconsiderate assholes but Negan just wanted to protect her for now.

“So, I was thinking,” Negan said to her, “I still don’t know your name. And…you’ve been here a few weeks. You’d say you’re comfortable here, right?”

The girl smiled and nodded. Negan beamed as he placed his large hand over her dainty one, “I’m glad. Maybe we could start trying to relearn how to communicate. What do you think?”

Her smile faded and she looked down at her lap, unsure and anxious. Her hand twitched underneath his. Negan wrapped his hand around hers, squeezing it to get her eyes back on him, “It’s gonna be okay. We can start small, ya know? Like uh…we can relearn how to write. Sound simple enough?”

The girl took a deep breath and after a pause, she slowly nodded. Negan got up and grabbed a notebook and a pencil, pushing their food aside so he could teach her. It took her a while to pick up on it since it had been so long. He couldn’t imagine what she’d been through in her life to make her end up in this state of mind. How long had she been in those woods? Had someone hurt her during her travels? Was this just a result of trauma? He wanted to ask but it might be rude. She might not even know the answer to that.

By mid-afternoon, the girl was writing basic sentences, just some responses to simple questions to make communication somewhat easier for her while she learned everything else. Negan closed the notebook and handed it off to her.

“That’s enough for today,” he declared, “Don’t wanna overwhelm you, darlin’. Can practice in your room if you want though.”

“I-I…” the girl began, clutching the notebook against her chest as she struggled to make the next few words, “I-I-I…w-w-w-wi…will. Th-thank you.”

“You’re learning fast,” Negan chuckled, “Maybe one of these days I can know your name.”

The girl nodded and leaned in to kiss his cheek. With her notebook still held tightly against her chest, she got up from the table and pointed to the door, “B-be-bedroom.”

“Of course,” Negan replied, “You’ve done a lot today. You do need your rest.”

The girl came back every morning to write more and more. She eventually started carrying her notebook around so she could communicate with everyone else. Most of them were happy that she was able to respond to questions and she seemed a lot happier too. But as Sherri had told Negan before, others weren’t as kind.

“Grown ass adult and can’t even talk,” one man said. Dwight chuckled when his friend spoke and it just urged the man to continue, “You a retard or somethin’ girl? The fuck is wrong with you?”

The girl cringed, shaking her head but too flustered to even attempt to say anything. Dwight scoffed, lightly nudging his friend, “Think she might be, man. Hey, since she can’t even say her name, maybe her name should just be Retard, how ‘bout that?”

She took a few steps away, shaking her head again as tears spilled from her eyes. The two men followed her and she started swinging her notebook at them, the animalistic side of her slowly reaching the surface, “N-n-no! G-get away!”

“Look,” Dwight’s friend said, “It speaks!”

Just then, the girl’s miracle came abruptly as the door slammed open and Negan rushed in, pulling on her arm and shielding her with his body. He couldn’t believe what he’d heard from behind that door. The other man wasn’t so shocking but Dwight? Dwight was supposed to be his right hand man. He thought Dwight knew better. He was out for blood now, ready to kill these two. Seeing the terror and stress in the girl’s teary eyes was too much on his heart. Seeing the hurt look on the girl’s face tore him up inside.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!” Negan boomed, pushing Dwight and his friend down onto the ground, “You think it’s funny that she’s struggling? You think calling her a retard is funny? Why don’t we see what I think is funny?”

It was Dwight and his friend’s turn to be frightened and Negan soaked it in. He wasn’t sure if he was going to kill them or just beat them until they wished he would. In that moment, he didn’t care. He needed to make an example of them so everyone here would know to never hurt the girl again.

As Negan got his bat ready to swing at the men, he felt a delicate tug on his leather jacket. He turned around to see the girl standing behind him, shaking her head desperately, “D-d-don’t…don’t…do it. Just…just let…them…” she waved her hand away to finish her sentence, “P-please…N…Negan.”

Negan’s expression softened when the girl said his name. The sound of her voice, although broken, soothed him, made him feel at peace. It was almost as beautiful as the rest of her. He turned to face the girl, “Dwight, get your friend the hell outta my sight. And you stay away from her from now on, are we clear?”

“Yes, Negan,” Dwight replied quickly before scurrying off with his friend. Negan wrapped his arms around the girl, gently stroking her hair. Her body relaxed in his arms, slowly wrapping her arms around him. She ran her hand up and down his back, her head rested on his chest.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her first complete sentence without a struggle. Negan couldn’t believe how strongly he felt for this girl and he didn’t even know her name. The girl lifted her head, as if reading his mind, “M…my…my…name.”

“You can tell me now?”

“Y…yes.”

Negan smiled, cupping the girl’s face in his hands, “Let’s hear it, darlin’. What’s your name?”

The girl’s lips curled in a smile, licking her lips as she put all her focus into giving Negan her name. She took a deep breath, “My…My name i-is…is…N-N-Natasha.”

“Natasha,” Negan chuckled, pushing her hair off her shoulders, “That’s a perfect name.”

She wrapped her arms around Negan’s shoulders, standing up on her toes to pull him in for a kiss. Negan sucked in his breath, surprised by her boldness but accepting it anyway, squeezing her body tighter in his arms.

“I…I think…I think I…like you,” she mumbled against his lips, “A lot.”

“With a kiss like that, I should hope so,” Negan said with a laugh. She still had so much to learn but he knew she trusted him and that made him so happy. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had made his heart this happy, “I like you too, Natasha. A lot.”


End file.
